A Prince and a Princess: The Next Generation
by TheLionESS-232
Summary: What happened after TLK2: Simba's Pride? Kovu and Kiara have had two cubs, and are living peacefully in the Pride Lands. What happens when tragedy involving the heirs strikes? What will happen to this troubled family, and the kingdom? REWRITTEN!
1. Tama's Problem

**Disclaimer: I do not on The Lion King or any of its characters.**

**Please go to my profile to read the character profiles of my OC's real quick! They're short! You can also see pictures of all four of the main characters there.**

**Oh, and this is a sequel to the one-shot "We are One" and the one-shot "Pinned 'ya!" They take place when the cubs are younger, and they're both short. You don't have to read them, but I'd suggest it anyway.**

**Okay here's my first shot at a multi-chaptered story.** **I'm still a very new author (I published my first fic like a few days ago), so please excuse my new-ness. Onto the fic!**

**

* * *

**

Kota sighed. His father stood next to him, continuing on and on for what seemed like _forever_. To Tama, his sister, all it was, "Kings must do this, they can't do that, blah, blah, blah..." and it looked like Kota was getting pretty sick of it.

Her brother glanced over at her. Tama equally annoyed with the bath Kiara was giving her. It wasn't as bad as the 'studies' about her 'responsibility' as future queen.

She scowled, watching as her best friend Sekani chased a little field mouse down at the bottom of Pride Rock. She wanted to join him, but she was currently preoccupied as Kiara washed her face and back with her tongue.

Tama hoped she would hurry up so she and Kota could go down to play with Sekani and his sister Zamani. _Well, maybe just Sekani, _she thought, snickering. She didn't really mean it in an ugly manner, but Zamani _did g_et on her nerves sometimes. _She's too much of a chicken, _she thought, rolling her eyes. _She's afraid to do _anything!

Tama sighed. "Mom, can I go now? _Please_?" she asked.

Kiara sighed. "I don't know Tama... I was thinking you and I could work on your studies again today. I need to teach you how to—" she began, but she was cut off by a huff from Tama.

"Mo-om! You make me work on them _every_ day!" She scowled. "I don't want to do them... I want to have fun."

"Come on, little princess, work on your girly duties!" Kota sneered, drawing an attempted roar from Tama. It came out sounding more like a meow. Kota snickered.

"I'd like to see you try better, princely-paws!"

"Kota...Tama..." Kiara attempted a scold, but it came out more as a plead. "Don't tease your sister." Kiara turned back to Tama. "Tama, I know you want to play, but it's your duty as a princess to train, so that one day, when I'm not around anymore, you can take over as queen." She sighed. "I wish I could let you go play, but it's my duty to make sure you are ready to be queen. And it's _your _duty to embrace that."

Tama grimaced."What if I don't _want _to be queen? I suppose I'll be _made _to? Why can't _Kota _be king?"

Kiara closed her eyes, mumbling softly to herself. "So, Dad, guess this is my payback?" She opened her eyes, focusing them back on Tama and replying, "That's... like saying you don't want to be a lion... It's in your blood..." _I suppose I deserve it, _she thought, almost smiling at the memory.

Tama scrunched her face up. "I _do _want to be a lion... I just don't want to be _queen." _

"What _do _you want to do then? Run around and play for the rest of your life? You won't be a cub forever, Tama..."

"I don't _want _to run around and play for the rest of my life, Mom..." She said, as though her mom should already know the answer. "I want to have fun, though... Not just sit around all day 'ruling'...You know?" She searched Kiara's face for an answer.

"I know you do, but you can't. It's your queenly dut-"

"I know, I know!" Tama cut her off. "You just... don't understand." she scowled, before sprinting down Pride Rock.

"Tama...!" It came out more as a beg than a command, but either way Tama didn't hear her, and if she had it wasn't likely she would have come back anyway. Kiara just sighed. "What are we gonna do with her, Kovu...?"

"Just give her time to cool down... She'll come around... I know it."

Kiara nodded. "I hope you're right..."

Kovu passed by her into the cave. "Me too..." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Tama reached the Watering Hole, panting. She glanced back to Pride Rock, sighing. "I wish I could be what you wanted..." she trailed off. _I'm just their... disappointment. I'm no queen, and they know it. To be a queen you have to be "Ladylike" and "Mature" and "Delicate". _

She glanced at her worn claws, scratches and bruises, frizzy tangled bang, and dusty brown fur.

_Oh yeah - that's me! Miss Delicate! _She thought sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she did so.

She glared at the ground.

_Maybe I don't _want _to be queen! I should get to choose for _myself, _not just do what others tell me to! _She huffed, dropping her head onto her paws. _I don't even _look _like a queen... _She glanced at her dark colored coat. _I look like I'm some sort of exile... not like royalty at all! _She growled_. Even my great-great grandma Uru had a royal looking chocolate brown coat... not one the color of muddy water, that looked like she'd been rolling in dust!_

_Of course, _Kota _came out looking like a king. _She thought of her brother, who was the spitting image of Simba at his age. He had inherited Kiara's golden coat and her amber-brown eyes, and looked like a regular king. The only difference between him and the royal family were that he had a brownish-red mane, instead of a bright red.  
_  
Tama however had gotten her father's dusty-brown coat, and a slight variation of his emerald green eyes. Hers were olive-colored. I bet they wish they could get another chance... maybe then they'd get a daughter they actually were happy with. But nope; they're stuck with me. If I wasn't royalty, I wouldn't _have_ to care about how I look... I don't really care at all, except for that._

"Hey, Tama!"

She jumped, before quickly regaining her composure and turning to Sekani. "Hey Sekani!" she blurted out enthusiastically. A little _too_ enthusiastically.

Sekani didn't seem to notice. "Hey, I found some warthogs!" He grinned evilly. "Wanna join me?"

Tama brightened. She thought of how funny it was to see them running around in circles. "Definitely!" she agreed. But as she stood to follow Sekani, she couldn't ditch her bad mood... or her troublesome thoughts.

* * *

**So what do you think of the first chapter? I tried to explain Tama's character as much as I could in** **this chapter. I'll try to focus on Kota a bit more soon, though. This story *probably* will be mostly about Tama though. I know this didn't have a ton of a plot in it, but believe me, things are gonna heat up! Stay tuned... Oh and remember, reviews are love! Reviews are what make a writer want to write, so review or The Shifty-Looking Cow will steal all your credits! You've been warned!**


	2. Brokenhearted

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Lion King or any of its characters but Tama and Kota, yada yada yada ect.**

**Sorry for the delay, guys. Serious case of writer's block .. I'm not dead though! This chapter will be much longer - I only stopped because I didn't want to drone on and on (And on...). This will hopefully answer a couple of you reviewers' questions, the one who was born first (only by about three minutes) was... well just read and see ;). Anyhoo, on with the much delayed chapter!  
_**

Tama yawned, lapping up a few sips of water, then turning to venture towards Pride Rock. Today had been a long day. She and Sekani had ended up scaring off an _entire _family of warthogs, before going vulture chasing with Timon and Pumbaa.

Then finally, they had snuck up on Zamani while she was chasing a butterfly and had scared her fur off. Tama stretched, closing her eyes tightly as she did so.

"Hey, Tama!" She jumped. What was it with people sneaking up on her today?

"What?" She snapped, her tone clippy.

Kota rolled his eyes, before continuing. He was obviously bored, or else he would have made a huge deal about that. "So... what are you doing?"

"Well, me and Sekani just got back from some vulture chasing!" She grinned.

"Aww! Why didn't you tell me?" Kota looked truly crestfallen.

She smirked. "Because you were off doing your 'princely duties.'" She said, mocking her father's voice. They both snickered.

"Yeah, well it's not fair that you get to go off and play while I'm stuck at home, listening how to 'rule'." He grunted. "If you're king you don't even get to go explore! Or play! Or..." His eyes widened. "Scare warthogs!" He shuddered.

She snorted. "You don't have to be king, _remember?"_ she spat out the words. For once, being first was not fun. "_I_ have to take on that... _wonderful_ duty."

He sighed. "I know. It's up to you though, remember?"

She closed her eyes, groaning. "Yes. I know." She shook her head. "They probably want me to 'denounce' the kingdom. You know what happens when a prince or princess does that, though; they don't have to be king or queen, but they're banished from the Pride Lands." She snorted. "Doesn't actually sound that bad." Her voice was light, but there was some truth behind her words, she reflected.

"Well, no offense, but you aren't the most queenly prospect..."

Tama groaned silently. Kota was her brother, but he could be a real pain. He often stuck his foot in his mouth, and accidentally said things that were mean. He didn't mean to, but it could really hurt someone feelings... _Like mine, perhaps?_ she thought, annoyed.

Changing the subject, she shook her head before saying, "Well we should probably be heading back, unless we wanna get the 'Princes and Princesses need to be responsible and not stay out late' talk!" She mimicked their voices, over-dramatizing them greatly.

Kota giggled. "Yeah... you're probably right," he winked.

He turned and held his head high, galumphing like a drunk person before dramatically tripping over his feet. She laughed out loud at his impression of their father. No matter how annoying Kota could be at times, he always knew how to cheer her up.

Kota however, was not in such a happy mood. As they were walking, he stopped suddenly, with an odd expression on his face. Tama halted, and, confused, turned around. "Kota...?" She questioned, a little dumbfounded as to _why_ exactly her brother was just randomly stopping.

"...Huh?" He shook his head, as though jolting his mind back into place. "Oh!" He jumped, and raced up to Tama, skidding to a stop by her side.

She shook her head, grinning. "You are so weird..."

"Hey!" He grinned, then pounced on top of her, tackling her to the ground. She smiled evilly, before kicking her back legs up and flipping him off, then before he could even move pouncing on top of him.

She smirked smugly. "Pinned 'ya!"

"Oh... shut up..."

She beamed, before climbing off of her brother and sitting a few feet away from him, her entire attention directed at him.

"So, what gives?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Duh!" She closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly. "You are so dense sometimes, Kota..."

She opened her eyes suddenly. "I _mean, _why _did _you stop back there?"

"Oh..." he mumbled, trying to dig for an answer. "Well, I was just thinking..." He glanced behind him.

"I heard about this place," He whispered. "They call it the Cave of Mists..." Tama's eyes took on a familiar gleam. She was _definitely _interested. Kota smirked. "I thought you'd be interested."

Tama sighed. "Just get to the point!" She snapped. He got to the point.

"Well see... I heard the leopards talking about it the other day," he again glanced to both sides. "They say it's in this place... called the Elephant Graveyard... I was thinking... tomorrow, you and I could..." He trailed off, winking. "Oh, and also maybe we could bring Sekani and Zamani..."

Tama hesitated. She was no scaredy-cat, but she had a brain, and she had heard stories of the Elephant Graveyard before. She knew that, even for them, it would be a dangerous feat. "I don't know Kota... I don't think we should."

He raised his eyebrows, obviously surprised at her answer. "Really? Huh..." he seemed genuinely dumbfounded. This was _not _the Tama he knew.

A smile tugging at his lips, he thought up a mischievous plan, before asking her arrogantly, "Oh, are you _scared? _I can see why, you know, with you being the 'royal heir' and such."

She growled. "You'd better be careful, Goata..."

He frowned at her back as they continued. _All in good time, _he reasoned, and with a nod of his head to no one in particular he rushed ahead to catch up with his sister, confident he'd draw her in.

**Ten Minutes Later**

* * *

"Kovu, just... ugh!" Kiara paced angrily, at no one in particular. She and Kovu were having one of their arguments about the kids.

"I'm just saying, we need to be harder on Tama." He frowned. "She _is _the royal heir, and she acts like that doesn't even matter!" he shouted.

"Do you want her to _hate _us? Maybe she's not as royal material as Kota, but she is fair and square the heir, and unless she declines the throne, _she_ is the next queen!" she growled. "She _can't _decline the throne! She'll be _banished!_

"I know that! She's irresponsible though! You saw the way she ran off today! It is her duty to train to be a queen, not go galumphing around like a little cub!"

"She _is _a cub! Let her be a kid, Kovu!" She sighed, exasperated.

"I didn't get to live mine! If I could live through a childhood of training, so can she!"

Kiara gasped. "That's because your mother was _insane. _Don't tell me you _agree_ with what she did?"

"Never!" he snarled. He laid his ears back and backed up. "I'm sorry..." her mumbled.

"Are you? Maybe she does need to listen more, but I won't let you ruin her cubhood because of it!"

"Letting her do what she pleases isn't gonna make Kota king! That's up to her, not what you want! She was born first, therefore no matter how much you - _we_ want to change that, she's the heir, unless she declines the crown or something happens to her..." he trailed off sadly.

"Don't even say that!" she hissed through her teeth. "I never said I wanted Kota to be king!"

"You thought it," he shot back darkly. He sighed. "Kiara, I love our daughter very much." he opened his eyes. "I'm just saying, we need to crack down. It is her responsibility to fulfill her duty as queen, and... I just don't even know what to do anymore... what with Simba gone, and me king..." he paused, and Kiara squeezed her eyes to hold back the tears.

Her father had passed away a few months before, not long after Tama and Kota had been born. She and Kovu were insanely busy with their parenthood and their unexpected royal duties, and they had been walking on pins and needles lately because of it.

"I'm sorry," Kovu muttered.

Kiara shook her head. "It's fine," she replied. She took a shaky breath, then continued. "Maybe we do need to be harder on her... I'll think about it more in the morning. I'm tired. :+Let's wait for the cubs to get back and go to bed."

* * *

**Five minutes before**

* * *

Tama and Kota came into sight of Pride Rock, thankfully for their aching paws. Kota panted, "Hey, I'm gonna go get a drink, 'kay?"

She nodded. "Okay, I'll wait here."

He shook his head. "That's fine, you go on ahead."

She stood their for a second, then nodded warily. "O-kay..." she meowed cautiously.

He nodded again, and then went on his way. She shook her head, as though knocking out the thoughts. Making her way towards home, she began the climb up the steep slope to the mouth of her pride's cave. Reaching the top, she paused, hearing voices. She slunk against the outer wall, and inched over to the mouth of the cave.

She couldn't make out much of what they were saying, but she could tell they were very angry. A few lines slipped out however, and a horrified look appeared on Tama's face as her heart twisted in her chest.

_"She is the royal heir, and there's nothing we can do about that!"_

_"Maybe she's not as royal material as Kota, but she is fair and square the heir, and unless she declines the crown, we have to honor the law!"_

A single tear trailed down her cheek, plopping soundlessly onto the ground next to her.

_"This is why I think Kota needs to rule..."_

_"Letting her do what she pleases isn't gonna make Kota king! That's up to her, not what you want! She was born first, therefore no matter how much you—we—want to change that, she's the heir, unless she hands the crown to her brother or something happens to her..." _

Tama fell to the ground, feeling like she'd been stabbed in the chest .She covered her face with her paws, shaking her head.

She sniffled. She couldn't keep crying like this. It showed that what her parents had said matter to her... _and it doesn't, _she told herself. A determined fire appeared in her eyes. Glaring out into the horizon, she without a sound sprinted off, down to the Watering Hole to meet her brother. He had a deal.

First thing tomorrow, she was going to the Elephant Graveyard. She wasn't quite sure what she would do yet... she just knew she had to do something big. She pondered this for a second. _Maybe leave... yeah, that's it... I'll leave._

_**The Next Day**_

* * *

Kota, Tama, Zamani, and Sekani all slowly made their way to the northern border.

After a long morning, mostly filled with convincing their parents they were "_Just _going to the Water Hole," they were finally on their way.

Tama led the party, with Kota following close behind on her left and Sekani on her right. Zamani hung back, occasionally getting sidetracked as she ran off to chase a butterfly or lizard, much to Tama's annoyance. Sekani and Zamani had caught them on their way to the "watering hole," and had begged to come along.

Tama had begun to protest, but, since she wasn't trying to draw suspicion to herself, she begrudgingly agreed to let them tag along.

"Hey, Tama," Sekani whispered to her. "So where is this place we're going?" His eyes were bright and eager; a polar opposite of Tama's at the moment. "Tama?" He questioned. "You... okay?" He asked, noticing her sullen appearance.

"I'm fine!" she snapped. She lowered her head. "Sorry... I'm just tired."

"Oh... okay then..." His gaze fell solemnly to the floor. He looked like he wanted to ask again, but he knew better than to question Tama when she was in a bad mood. He bit his lip, and danced nervously on his paws. Sekani was a levelheaded kid, much like Kopa had been. He was brave but not stupid; laid-back but not boring. He and Tama were a perfect match; there was even proof of that as he was her best friend.

Sighing, she looked straight ahead, not even giving Sekani a second glance. She was leaving. It was a bittersweet thought... she would miss Sekani, and her brother. But she had to leave... Her parents didn't want her to be queen, so it was best for everyone if she just disappeared. No, the thought was pretty much only bitter... she didn't actually want to leave that bad.

_Much better than "denying the throne," because then I'd still have to burden my parents with my existence_, she thought bitterly. She was on her way to her new life, whatever that may be.

And there was no turning back.

* * *

**Oooh... cliffy eh? Sorry 'bout that ;). So, looks like things are starting to heat up, huh? I felt like I made Kovu and Kiara too robotic in the first chapter, so I tried to go deeper in this one...  
Poor little Tama :'(. **

**Please review! The more reviews, the faster I update ;).**


	3. The Cave of Mists

**So many things to say... I'd first off like to apologize to my anonymous reviewers. I always review-reply, but a few of you don't have accounts, so I decided to put my replies in the Author's Note. x( I forgot to. Sorry about that. So basically, in a word, thank you to ALL my reviewers, including those of you without accounts! And in response to Starzinmieyez, Nala's alive, I just now realized when you reviewed that I hadn't incorporated her at all xD I hope to soon. Simba is dead though.**

**Second: PLEASE go to my profile and read the new character profiles that I put up. I COMMAND you to xD. I also added this to the first chapter :).**

**Third: A day after I posted chapter two, I realized that I posted the unedited version! SO sorry to those of you that read it-just start at where Tama overhears the conversation and you're good :).**

**Fourth: DISCLAIMER! I remembered! (I went back and added it to a few chapters) I am AWFUL about remembering to do this, so here it is! I do not own the Lion King or any of its characters. I own nothing but my OC's.**

**And finally, fifth: sorry the chapters fairly short. But I've been having writer's block on this story, so I figured instead of waiting till it goes away and finishing this chapter, I should go ahead and post the chapter. Sorry again! I'm also preoccupied with my other newer FanFic, Light at the End of the Tunnel, so... go check it out ;D!**

**And thus ends the longest Author's Note in history...**

* * *

Tama puffed a breath of air out, knocking away the annoying bang that hung over her eyes away. Zamani and Sekani had been arguing for the past five minutes, and her head was pounding.

"Stupid Sekani! You scared the lizard away!" Zamani accused.

"Did not! You did, miss 'oh so great huntress'!"

"Pfff, okay then, Lick-ani!"

"Oh yeah?" Sekani hated it when Zamani called him that. Embarrassingly enough for Tama, she had also used the nickname to annoy him occasionally, even if it was what Zamani did also and she tried to strictly avoid doing anything similar to Zamani other than things necessary to survival, like eating.

Sekani proceeded to pounce on top of his sister. Zamani may have been a bit of a priss, but she could hold her own in a fight, even though she still wasn't as strong as her larger brother. Kicking one leg up, she landed a good one right in her brother's chest, temporarily knocking the wind out of him and giving her the chance to 'escape' by slipping out from under him.

Tama inwardly groaned, even though normally she would have either been cheering Sekani on or wrestling with her _own_ brother. Birds twittered noisily in the trees, and antelope playfully chased each other. No one payed any attention to the clueless prince, sullen princess, or wrestling brother and sister.

Tama gasped lightly suddenly, causing the two fighting cubs and her bored looking brother to turn their attention towards Tama. "Wow..."

"Wow" was right. The menacing, forbidden graveyard stood tall and eery in all it's majesty. Terrifying yet amazing, to the eyes of a cub. Any adult in their right mind would, by all means, _avoid _the dangerous place. But to a cub, there was no question, no stop-and-think-about-it moment. Breaking into a sprint, all four of the young cubs raced towards the enthralling place, excitement vividly shown in each of their eyes. And then, as though their minds were all connected, they slid to a stop right at the border that connected their beautiful Pride Lands to the despicable place.

Taking the first tentative step into the creepy, forbidden place, an odd, prickly feeling came over Tama. It felt similar to discomfort... yet at the same time, completely different. Maybe... she was taking this too fast. Maybe she was jumping to conclusions... she wasn't sure if she really _wanted _to leave. She shook her head. She didn't want to. Okay, so maybe she wouldn't leave. But that didn't mean she wouldn't go into the place... and it also would make her parents mad... _good, _she thought contentedly.

Sekani was the first one to break the silence. "So.. we going in?"

Tama rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. Typical Sekani. She nodded silently, sparing him a quick glance before turning her attention back to the gray wasteland. A mischievous grin cracked on her face, her eyes glinting as she smiled at the graveyard.

Kota laughed, pointing at Tamara. "Ha, what are you smiling at?"

Tama glared. Sekani snickered briefly, before immediately wiping it off his face when he had a dagger look shot his way. With a huff, Tama pointed her nose into the air, haughtily stomping inside. She flicked her tail menacingly back at them, her claws extended into the dirt. She always kept her claws extended when she was angry. Kota and Sekani's eyes connected, and with a silent nod, they seemed to read each other's minds. She was _definitely _in a bad mood.

Sekani shrugged, and began following his friend's pawprints. Kota frowned, before mimicking Sekani's actions, after mumbling something under his breath quietly. Zamani gulped loudly, and tentatively tiptoed after her friends.

Stalagmites menacingly jutted off the gray floor, looking like daggers. Zamani gulped a second time, flattening her ears against her head. Although she would fight to the death to deny it, Tama was a little scared too... _but no turning back now, s_he decided.

Large tusks came up through the ground, making a sort of obstacle course for the young cubs. They stumbled through it, keeping their eyes and ears sharp.

"Hey, Tama... so where are we going?" Sekani asked.

She grinned, the smile nearly meeting in the back of her head. "To the Mist Cave..."

* * *

**OFFICIAL DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTION FOR WRITER'S BLOCK:**

**Get reviews. Reviews are magical and cure Writer's Block in a synch. Also, reading some FanFic will help with the swelling of the Writer's Block, but nothing cures Writer's Block like the good 'ole fashioned natural remedy; REVIEWS!**

**SO REVIEW! OR THE BIOTIC BEAR WILL GET YOU!**


	4. Disaster

**Sorry so much for the delay everyone! I just... sort of lost my interest in the Lion King area. I mean, I still read it, and I haven't abandoned it or anything... but I go through fazes. Right now I'm immensely obsessed with the Warriors book series, (If you want a link to my Warriors FF profile, go on my profile), among insane life. I'm gonna be straightforward with you when I say that this story will be updated VERY rarely from here on out, if I... well, if I even finish it at all. I mean, I actually have totally changed my mind about where I'm going with this story; I don't even -totally- know now. I have no idea how it's gonna end up. I actually wish I could start over, but I'm not even sure whether or not to do that. So, I -think- this will be finished... but I won't swear on a Bible.  
**

**Also, and this is VERY important, unless you are brand new to the story; I got a review telling me that, basically, in short, my character's names are not good. Well, at first this review made me upset; then it made me mad; and finally I realized maybe my names are a bit odd. First of all, Okami's name was a tribute to one of my favorite animals, wolves. 'Okami' means wolf.**

**Anika came from me just plain thinking the name fit her.**

**And Koda? I don't know. I just liked the name. But, the reviewer said that Koda makes them think of Brother Bear; but I've never even seen that movie.**

**But anyway, I finally decided that maybe they were right, so I changed the names of Okami, Anika, and Koda. Okami's new name is Sekani. Anika's new name is Zamani. And Koda's new name is Kota. And you CAN'T say those aren't African; both Zamani and Sekani are actually official African baby names. And Kota... just sounds African xD. Tama's name will remain the same.**

**Also; I now have links to each individual character's picture on my profile. So please check that out.**

**And, finally; this is a shout-out to Night-Wisdow. She is the author of the story "The Heirs of Hope"... which is probably the best Lion King story I've ever read. It actually inspired me to write this fanfic, and also is just plain amazing. I'm actually beta-ing it right now, so even though the whole story's done, the delay is me finishing the beta-ing. But I HIGHLY suggest you go and check that out. It really is my inspiration. PLUS, you can thank her for my updating; a few days ago, she P.M'ed me and told me she was looking forward to the next chapter... and for some reason, this motivated me so much I got my Warriors-writing butt up and wrote the next TWO chapters. MORE proof that you should review xD! Seriously, it's usually a review that makes me go write the next chapter. I'm serious.  
**

**And so ends the NEW longest author's note in history...**

* * *

"Woah."

Tama peered down into the canyon. It snaked along, drawing patterns in the rocky floor. The four young cubs walked slowly and carefully along the rock, taking great care to not fall into the many holes which seemed to ooze green mist. "I wonder what's down there..?" Sekani muttered.

Zamani leaned over one of small volcano-type mounds. "Yeeach!" she shrieked, as hot air blew from the hole and into her face with great force.

"Heh," Tama giggled, receiving a glare from Zamani. "Sorry, sorry. I was just joking!" she rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a prissy-pussy!"

"Whatever," Zamani growled. Stealing one last glare at each other, they stalked off to explore separate sides of the cavern.

Kota, who had remained silent the entire time, padded over to Zamani. "Hey... she's in a bad mood today... just ignore it."

Zamani gave him a grateful smile, and they padded off to explore the cave more.

Sekani stepped carefully over one of the slits in the ground. "If you were a bird, I wonder what this would look like from the sky?" he asked inquisitively.

"I dunno... but I bet it'd be pretty awesome!" Tama breathed, entranced by the place. It was pretty cool.

"Ooof! Ah-ah-ahh!" Sekani slipped on a dampened rock, and nearly pitched into the seemingly endless pit he was standing near. "That was close..."

"Hey, come look at this!" Tama gestured to a line of "stepping stones". In reality, they were pillars. But because of the misty green fog that floated in and out the canyon that surrounded them, they looked like stepping stones that led across a misty green river.

"Wow!" Kota grinned mischievously. "Last one across is a smelly warthog!"

"You're on!" Tama leapt, landing on the first "stepping stone" with ease, then paused to regan her balance..

A "race" ensued, with Sekani reaching the end first, then Tama, then Kota. Poor Zamani was still stuck nearly at the beginning. The pillar she stood on wobbled slightly, and she squeaked and jumped for the next one. "That's not fair!" she protested, frowning.

"Ha-ha-ha! You're a smelly warthog!" Tama rolled on her back, giggling.

Zamani sighed, her expression downcast. "Awww... I'm always last..."

Kota opened his mouth to try and say something. He always seemed to be the most understanding of the group about Zamani, and he often jumped to her defense. "Oh... leave her alone, guys..." Kota hopped back across the "path", and when he reached Zamani, he helped her across.

"Thanks..." she said, smiling.

Kota nodded, before taking his place at Tama's side again. He gave her one last smile, which she returned, before they all began to walk away, still having much more to explore.

Suddenly Sekani gasped. "Look at that!" he exclaimed loudly, before taking off and charging towards whatever he had seen. He slid to a stop in front of a large, reddish crystal. "Look at that!" he repeated, obviously very excited by it.

"Wow..." Tama agreed, nodding with him as she circled the crystal slowly, looking it up and down.

"I dare you to lick it..."

"No way!"

"Hyena! Tama's a hyena, nah, nah, nah nah, nah!"

"Fine..." Her face twisted in disgust, and she leaned forward slowly and, with her eyes still closed, licked the crystal quickly.

She immediately yanked her tongue back in, as though not wanting it to remain on the crystal any longer than it had to.

"What did it taste like?" Sekani queried.

"Like warthog butt. It didn't taste like anything, Banana Beak!" she replied sarcastically, before poking him in the head tauntingly.

Sekani grinned, and crouched, preparing to tackle her. His efforts were interrupted by a low, ominous rumble, however, and he flicked his blue eyes around nervously. Their playful banter was forgotten as all four cubs edged closer together, eyes scanning ever inch of the massive cavern.

Tama stared at her feet, and noticed a few pebbles shaking and jiggling. "W-what's going on..?" Zamani asked slowly, the panic her voice growing steadily.

"I-I don't know!" Tama replied anxiously. "It sounds like some sort of... avalanche!"

Her explanation came true, as a wave of rocks burst into the room. The ceiling started shaking and hot green liquid gurgled out of the pits, steaming when it hit the ground. "Run!"

Scrambling to their feet, they, without a word, raced—and this time not playfully—to the stepping stones. They shoved each other along, panicky, and scrambled atop the other side. Rocks were falling from the ceiling now, and it seemed that the whole cave was collapsing. "Hurry!" Sekani shouted.

A rock fell on Tama's head, causing her to slow down and sway back and forth. Her vision blurred and the world seemed to spin, her eyelids half-closed. Kota saw what happened and turned around to help his sister. He grabbed her neck and began half-dragging her away, but the extra weight slowed him down. He began dragging her back across the 'bridge', with canyon on either side, until she blearily shook her head and stood up herself.

Then, eerily, a giant stalactite rumbled, and in slow motion, fell to the ground. It caused the two cubs to leap apart, and since it was pointed, it literally split the 'bridge' in two.

A stalactite was right in between them, and they were both dangerously close to the canyons on either side. Kota took a step back, but when he set his paw down, the rock crumbled and caused him to lose his balance.

He slipped off, his feet dangling down into the canyon and he clung onto the edge desperately. "Help!" he shouted frantically. Tama made ready to help him, being fully awake now, but just when things couldn't get any worse... they did.

Larger and more stones were breaking lose from the cave's ceiling, and because of their great size and weight, parts of the floor were crumbling too. There was less and less land and more and more canyon every second now.

Suddenly, the floor cracked, Tama and Kota on separate sides. There was a sickening groan, then, silence... The floors started to crumble, jarring Tama off her seemingly solid standing point and into the crumbling mess, which was traveling at breakneck speed in a river-like fashion... directly into the canyon.

Her claws scratched desperately against the pebbles, but she kept slipping further and further down, carried by the pebble current.

Kota wasn't doing so well, either. He tried to scramble up the rockslide that his wall had turned into, but his every attempt was in vain. His desperate acts seemed to only cause the wall to crumble more-so.

Sekani pounded along with Zamani, before realizing that they were missing Tama and Kota. He slid to a stop, and spun around just in time to see the ground crumble and the cubs get carried by the rocky current on either side. He knew he had a choice... he couldn't save both of them.

Tama slipped completely off her ledge, and began to fall, slowly, tortuously. The only thing that saved her, was a strange root that protruded from the wall.

She managed to just barely grab onto it with her teeth, but the weak root wouldn't last long. She could literally feel the bits of bark peeling off of it, and she momentarily wrinkled her nose at their awful taste.

That thought only served to terrify her more so, as rocks fell on her head and caused her to swing back and forth on the thin vine like a pendulum.

Sekani was frozen in thought , unsure which friend to save, and he stood motionless for several heartbeats. Zamani seemed to have disappeared. Kota cried out, "Help! Somebody!"

Sekani growled at himself for his stupidity, a lunged towards the closest cub; Kota.

"H-hold on, Kota! I'm c-coming!" he stuttered, the vibrating cave making him dizzy. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." he mumbled.

Tama clenched her jaw tightly, deciding there and then that there was no way a rockslide was going to end her. She pushed her back as hard as she could against the wall behind her, struggling to walk up the wall. _This is easier than I thought it'd be.._. she thought briefly. _It felt like when I first fell in here the wall was farther apart..._ Suddenly she came to the horrifying realization that the wall was closing together, crunching her in between. "Guys!" she shouted desperately. "The walls are closing in!"

Sekani was gripping Kota's scruff in his mouth, trying to drag him out. "I think we realized that!" he snapped.

Tama squeezed her eyes tightly, and welled up water, from just the pure strain of trying to walk up the wall, squeezed through her shut lids. She squinted her whole face up and willed her body to walk itself up the cliff further. Sharp rocks and bits of gravel dug into her back, drawing blood that seeped into her dark, dust-colored fur. Her olive green eyes narrowed, and she kept her gaze on the top of the cliff.. _Almost there,_ she thought with little relief. Anticipating escaping, she began to push harder, trying to quicken her pace.  
_  
I'm almost there!_ she excitedly thought again, _one more step!_ Tama's face twisted into a look of horror as the rock she pressed her paw in crumbled, and she began slipping down into the abyss yet again. "H-help!" she shouted.

"A little busy here!" Sekani shot back. "Hold on, Tama!"

"I-I'm slipping!"

Suddenly, Kovu burst into the cave, crashing into the wall that Tama's back was pressed against and jarring it backwards. Zamani followed him straight behind, obviously having gone to get him. She reached down and help Sekani pull Kota out the rest of the way.

Kovu leaned down and snatched Tama out of the rift by her scruff, yanking her out onto the main floor. "Hurry!" he shouted, reaching his head down for the other three cubs to climb on. "We don't have much time!" A large rock hit him on the head immediately after he said this, causing him to lose his balance and stumble sideways. He still held onto Tama, though, who was too disoriented to struggle.

He tried to run, but his paws skidded and slid on the many tiny pebbles scattered across the shaking floor. He slid cartoon-style towards the exit; not that he minded, as it was much faster than trying to run. But with a glance to the ceiling, his eyes grew wide with terror and he scrambled to get to the mouth of the cavern.

Overhead, a huge boulder dangled ominously above the only exit to the shaking tunnel. It creaked, pebbles raining down all around it, and swayed back and forth, just begging to fall. Kovu swung his head around and sling-shot Tama out of the tunnel, who scrambled to her feet and danced on her paws, nervously waiting for her father.

Suddenly, Kovu slipped on the carpet of shaking pebbles, landing with his legs sprawled out. Sekani tugged at his ear, trying to get him up. "Hurry, mister Kovu!"

Tama couldn't wait any longer, and she pounded into the cave to help. But in her mad dash to help her father and friends, she skidded across the pebbles and slid dangerously close to the ledge. A mighty shake sent her toppling over, he hind paw catching on a rock and keeping her from going over all the way. She was trapped.

Kovu scrambled up, and, unaware of Tama's presence, grabbed the other three cubs and threw them onto his back. "B-but what about Tama!" Sekani shout-asked. But over the roar of the cave Kovu could not hear the dark gray cub.

Sekani took a deep breath, and jumped off of his back, half-running half-sliding over to where Tama had fallen. He snatched her by the tail, and began pulling her out of the pit. Once close to the exit, he spun his body around, slingshotting her body out of the cave and onto the ground behind her frantic father.

Everything happened so quickly that king Kovu had had no chance to dive in for his daughter; one second he was unaware of his daughter inside, and the next she was being thrown out at him.

Sekani put on an extra burst of speed, willing his body to escape the cave before the gigantic rock fell.

All at once, though, the final creak was heard, and the rock fell slow-motion to the ground. Giving a final leap, Sekani's front half landed outside the cave. He tried to scramble to his feet, but the large rock crashed down on him, trapping his foot and making him cry out in pain.

"Sekani!" Zamani shouted, leaping over the dazed Tama and rushing to her brother's side.

"Zamani, go get Rafiki, and hurry!" Kovu ordered. Without hesitating, she gave a curt nod, and bounded off in the direction of the gnarled old tree Rafiki lived in.

"P-please mister K-Kovu, get me out from under here!" came Sekani's mumbled response. His eyelids were drooping and an odd haze swirled in his piercing blue eyes; he was going into shock.

Kovu grimaced, obviously torn between doing what he knew was the right thing to do and obeying the poor cub's pleads. "I can't risk it, Sekani... I could hurt you further than you already are."

Sekani closed his eyes, lowering his head to the dusty ground again and going limp. He clenched his jaw, enduring the sheer, grating pain in silence, while Kovu looked on in sympathy.

Tama groaned, stirring, and as soon as she remembered where she was, she sprung up dizzily, teetering back and forth. "Sekani!" she shouted, anxiously searching for her friend.

"Down here..." he mumbled. Her fearful expression changed to one of horror as she saw her friend with his leg trapped under the great rock.

"Oh, Sekani!" cried Tama. "This is all my fault!"

"N-no, it's not..." he murmured. "I chose to go in after you... I couldn't just leave you there... you're my friend."

Tama's eyes watered, feeling incredibly guilty for her friend's show of loyalty. "You didn't have to do that..." she repeated, more to herself than to him.

He half smiled at her, although she could still see the pain etched onto his face. It was a bittersweet smile."I wanted to," he retorted. "I couldn't just leave you, Tama. You're my friend," he repeated.

His eyes closed, and he drifted out of consciousness. Rafiki appeared immediately after, scrambling through the brambles with Zamani puffing to keep up. Zazu fluttered some twenty feet above their heads, with Kiara bounding along under him, keeping sight of the blue bird. He swooped down to land on the ground beside Rafiki.

Rafiki examined Sekani and stood, slowly shaking his head. "Dis is not good," he said finally. "His body is going into shock, as a defense technique. We need to get him out of dere, now."

Kovu gave a brisk nod, understanding the mandrill's orders clearly. He put his strong, broad shoulder under the rock, and Kota gasped as he saw his father's enormous strength in lifting the large rock. Rafiki quickly but carefully pulled Sekani's body out, as he knew Kovu couldn't hold the rock up forever.

Sekani's unconscious body lay in the middle of the circle of lions, and they all stood in anxious silence as the watched Rafiki work. He dabbed many herbs around the gruesome leg, and retrieved some cobwebs from his basket of things to wrap the injured limb up.

Unable to stand there any longer, Tama finally asked, "Mister Rafiki, sir... will he be okay?"

"He has had a very bad leg injury, and the bone is broken. I 'tink he will recover, but I cannot be sure." The mandrill shook his head slowly. "It is bad, very bad. He is in the hands of the Great Kings. Whatever happens, he will certainly have a nasty scar."

Tama shrank under her father's cutting gaze. "Thank you, Rafiki." Kovu sighed.

Rafiki nodded. "I will bring him back to my den." His gaze landed on the dark gray cub once more.

Kovu nodded once more, watching as Rafiki gathered his herbs and left. He focused his emerald green gaze on Zazu. "Take Zamani and Kota home." His gaze turned sharply to Tama. "Kiara and I need to teach our daughter a lesson." Then his green eyes turned back to Kota. "And I'll talk to _you _later."

Zazu trembled slightly, but bowed respectfully. "Y-yes, Sire,"

Kovu nodded sharply once more at the bird. "Come on," he growled to Tama.

Tama sighed. She knew she was in deep trouble. And it would take more than an apology to fix it.

**

* * *

**

**So... once again, THANK YOU, Night-Wisdow. And PLEASE review, people; like I said, it was a "review" ( A PM, actually, but...) that made me get up and write this!  
**


End file.
